restoran selera melayu

as i am proud to say that i am from malaya, the availability of outlets that cater to the malaya's taste is something of a welcome sight to me. the fact is this: the taste buds in sarawak is a lot milder and if i may say blander than the heat and sheer flavours that the food that is normally taken by malayans. so when a colleague told me of this place, i had to give it a try. the first thing i was told about this place is the nasi lemak. and i mean nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaf and newspaper. so i had to give it a shot. turns out the taste is pretty ok by the standards here (even compared to our office nasi lemak). so tick. the next thing that was a hit at this place is its masak ikan asam pedas. now if you are a fan of this stuff then this place is really worth a visit for this dish. the akak, who is from perak has got it down to a t. of course we need good, fresh fish, etc, but she has got the chili thing going with the asamness just right. make sure you're not wearing white and get some extra tissues handy coz its gonna make you sweat baby. i mean with gastronomic pleasure. you gotta go early, coz that dish goes pretty fast. we have been disappointed once, but only once. other dishes are worth a go, like the curry, masak lemak, but the signature dish is what i have described above. so what are you waiting for, get going!
located along the row of restaurants along the bulatan (known as saberkas, where the pasar malam is)

fratini's

the company allowances one gets when arriving at a new location lets you venture a bit further than your average roadside fare. so we decided to try out one of the more expensive restaurants that this 'city' has to offer. its of course easier to choose this one as just coming back from europe our memory of what is supposed to be authentic italian food is still fresh in our tastebuds, so we can compare lah. we've tried this joint a few times, and they are generally quite good. their pizzas are good the dough is light and tasty with reasonable choice of toppings. they also do good soups and salad starters. they have some interesting drinks, if i recall the four seasons mocktail is pretty refreshing. all in all its worth a try. they regularly do promos for takeaways to lure you to the place as well. they also have a little brother restaurant going by the name of piccolo fratini near the centrepoint kopitiam.

restoran muara

we have only tried one thing at this place, its famous nasi lalapan. it means eight rice, and there are supposed to be eight different things that go with the rice on the place. actually most of it are good healthy ulam (local veges), plus either meat, chicken or fish and a dollop of their very powderful sambal belacan. this place gets quite busy, as there are quite a few indons working here in the local construction and oil/gas industry who frequent this place. u gotta be ready for some sweaty head and nose after a dose of nasi lalapan, it really gets the pores opened up, but worth it! cant really say about the other items in the menu at this place, but if you are up for some serious tastebud explosions, then this is a must try. i like the meat version, its just right for the dish, as the meat are cut into rectangle slabs and cooked to a balanced crisp and tender texture. its located at the miri waterfront business area, opposite the yee ha hai seafood restaurant at the roundabout.

fajaria

back to lutong again to share a little of this favourite haunt for the office folks for lunch. it has a wide range of lauk to choose from for the nasi campur and is not bad. one thing i figured is that miri is quite a fan of this dish called 'chicken mayonnaise'. its basically deep fried breaded chicken pieces and with a layer of mayo laced over it. nevertheless their nasi campur is worth a try. nasi ayam is also another favourite there and they do the roasted version. their waitresses have gotten used to me now for the standard tapau package of a goreng dish, be it rice, kuey teow or meehoon but without seafood or egg. must say i havent been there for a while so maybe its due. one thing about ordering food here in sarawak is that most things are served with a clear hot soup. like all things alien initially, one gets used to it, and it seems like i would demand for my hot soup now to accompany my makan. this place has a sister shop called cafenika in miri town, so menu is quite similar. fajaria is in lutong town opposite the shell station.

cafe bavaria

this is a popular one for oue family. our daughter loves their potatoes and we lurve their southern german offerings which are actually quite authentic. the owner is a german herself, married to a local dude and been here for a while. she usually chills out smoking at the restaurant when its not busy, but does the cooking herself. there is a good range on the menu to try out, with their schnitzels as the main choice, but also other things like the foot long hotdog, mash potatoes and farmers lunch. the potatoes of the day are made by parboiling them and then cooked with onions, its addictive! tucked at a corner in one of the blocks in the waterfront (after the row of maybank etc), it seems to be getting busier as time goes by. also worth trying their yummy bananarama drink. desserts are unfortunately a bit of a let down, a nice strudel would be nice, but you cant have them all i suppose.

ipoh kopitiam

my first visit to this place was when i met up with my uncle syed zul having confused him for my boss in a series of hilarious sms ping pong. this place has a simple, well, kopitiam atmosphere (and air con'd too) and serves up traditional fares like kaya toast and half boiled eggs on bread. pretty good, and the ipoh white coffee is also good. the place uses chicken from a halal source and openly declares their menu is pork free. for me thats good enough not to turn down the opportunity. other things on the menu that i plan to try out are nasi lemak, and their goreng stuff. good place to widen your options and they have wi-fi in keeping up with the times. its located at the new block of shop lots on the way to miri marriott (same row as the 'smaller' fratini's).

mee kolok pak wan

back to lutong again as we try out one of the popular joint in this part of town (cant bring myself to call this place a city somehow). they serve up a popular dish called mee kolok, its a simple breakfast made up of curly noodles with a beef broth and some 'erbs thrown in. its delicious, not too heavy and reasonable too (though people are complaining of increases in costs of living reflected by the increase in price of this stuff). pak wan is a chinese who converted to islam as i understand it, so he has the knowledge of the recipe for this dish. his place also serves up other goreng stuff, notables are his 'nasi goreng belacan semua (or all)'. its an interesting one which is worth a try. located opposite the shell station (near the car wash).